All Thumbs
by Admiral T. DeVanto
Summary: Raizel sends the wrong text message. Of course, everyone freaks out.


The bustle of the store was dying down somewhat as the sun began to set. There were still some shoppers hurrying about to finish their errands and complete their groceries. The soft music that the store usually played became nothing but background noise, fading into a distant hum.

Raizel strode down the aisle of the store, his steps brisk and full of purpose. He knew where to find the ramen, the sole food that he shopped for anyway. Normally he would be accompanied by the children. But tonight, he found himself alone.

It was nice, almost. He did enjoy the children's company and hearing their constant chatter as they talked about video games, or complained about school. He loved being a part of their group. It was a part of the normal life that he had missed out on. He never liked to be alone too much, but sometimes, it was peaceful. He found that he sometimes missed that sense of peace.

A slight buzzing sound reached his ears, and he paused, cocking his head as he wondered what it could be. It took him a moment to realize that the sound was emanating from his pocket. Looking down with a small frown, he reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. He gazed at the device, flipping it open to see the small lettering on the screen.

 _ **You have one new message:**_

Raizel merely stared at the phone, a small frown on his face. He knew that the household was checking in on him. After all, the Union had been unusually quiet these past few weeks, and everyone had been on edge as they awaited for the next attack. He knew that Frankenstein did not like to simply wait for someone to attack them and make the next move, but with no leads and no recent sightings, there was not much they could do.

Raizel gazed at the letters, his thumb hovering over the ' _Open'_ button. He was still getting used to these complicated devices, and he feared that he would inflict some type of damage to the phone and its contents just because of his ignorance. To his relief, the message merely opened with the name of the messenger itself.

 _Tao: Did you get the ramen? R u OK?_

His mouth twitched slightly in amusement as he looked at the message. Of course they would be checking in on him. However, he blinked as he wondered how else he should send a reply to Tao. If he remained silent for too long, then they would worry about him, and he did not need to worry the other members of the household.

He vaguely remembered Shinwoo showing him how to send quick and effective messages with just one letter. Something like that should appease Tao.

So, his finger hovered over the letter 'K.' While he was unsure how the letter 'K' could display the word 'affirmative' or 'yes,' he had seen Shinwoo and the others use it effectively. And Tao was into computers, so he would understand this simple yet complex code anyway.

"Move it kid!" a gruff voice snapped, shoving past Raizel.

The sudden movement did not even cause Raizel to stumble, but it did cause his finger to slip slightly as he stared at the grouchy man storming past him, pushing a cart stuffed with an assortment of foods.

With a small sigh as he watched the man leave, Raizel looked back at the text message he had sent. He frowned as he saw what was displayed on the screen.

 _Raizel: H_

He could not remember what the letter 'H' stood for in the text messaging code, but it most certainly was not a 'K.'

With a slight shrug, he pocketed his phone and went back to shopping for ramen.

Maybe the letter 'H' stood for 'Hunky-dory.' He could vaguely remember Shinwoo telling him the many new catchphrases that meant 'yes.' Why there needed to be more phrases for one meaning, Raizel did not know.

* * *

"GAHHHH!"

Both Takeo and M21 looked up with similar, startled expressions as Tao came running in. The young hacker and self proclaimed leader of the RK band looked frazzled as he clutched his phone in his hands, nearly trembling.

Takeo briefly wondered if Tao's phone had died...again, and if they would be subjected to his endless bemoaning for the next hour.

"REGIS!" Tao shrieked, rushing forward. "SIERA! Gather the RK! Contact the Boss! This is an emergency!"

Regis blinked, looking around the large living room. "We are all here," he stated, gesturing to every single person that was gathered together for the night, minus Mr. Raizel.

Tao blinked, looking momentarily at a loss for a moment. "Oh," he said. Then the panic set into his eyes once more. "We have an emergency!"

"Yes, so you've said," M21 said, unaffected.

"I just received a coded message from Raizel himself!" Tao shrieked. "We need to get moving now to assist him!"

Frankenstein looked up, immediately alerted to his Master's name. "Is Master in danger?" he demanded.

"Of the worst kind!" Tao exclaimed. He shoved his phone in Frankenstein's face. "See for yourself!"

Frankenstein blinked as he took in the message. He raised an eyebrow, confused as he glanced at Tao. "'H'" he repeated.

Takeo frowned, cocking his head. "What does the letter 'H' mean?"

"It's in code!" Tao shouted, aghast at their ignorance.

"Really?" M21 asked dubiously. "And how do you figure?"

Tao sniffed, pointing his nose in the air with a look of sudden importance. "I am into computers. So naturally, I would understand this simple yet complex code anyway." He shook his head. "But that's not the point! We are wasting time even as we speak! We've gotta MOVE!"

"Tao," Frankenstein said firmly. The blonde human did not need to raise his voice to command attention, yet that simple name caused everyone to freeze where they were. "What does the letter 'H' mean, and how does it affect my Master?"

Everyone shivered in sudden fear and dread. Whenever Raizel was involved, they knew to steer clear of Frankenstein and let him handle everything.

"The letter 'H' is a simple way to send a text message," Tao said. "It means 'Help'!"

Frankenstein's frown darkened. "And this means that Master is in danger?"

Fear suddenly lodged itself in Takeo's heart, the feeling spreading to everyone who was now on the alert.

Tao nodded. "Worse yet, the fact that he only had time to send one letter instead of a full message means he could be in some horrible danger!"

Just like that, everyone scrambled into action. Transformations were made, weapons were called on, and the RK unit was activated, tearing down the streets like never before.

* * *

Raizel felt a tingle go up his spine, and he frowned as the familiar feeling spread throughout his body. That usually happens when Frankenstein was active and using Dark Spear. But why would he be active at a time such as this?

He shrugged, going back to examining the packets of ramen in his hands. Hm, should he pick crab, or beef?

Why not both?

Just as he was placing the packets into his cart, the very roof of the building was torn off.

Everyone screamed as the glass on the windows shattered as dark figures rushed in. The sound of a werewolf's battle cry could be heard as bullets whizzed past the shelves. A jug of orange juice splattered as bullets tore through it, nearly dripping on Raizel's white uniform.

Raizel blinked as he stared at the scene unfolding before him. Was that Takeo jumping through the windows with his guns blazing? And what was M21 doing in full werewolf form?

Oh, and apparently Seira and Regis were here as well, wielding their Soul Weapons.

"MASTER!"

Raizel cocked his head at Frankenstein's call. He looked up to see his loyal servant, completely shirtless and covered in the Dark Spears power. He stood over the hole of the roof he had created, his very presence a terrifying sight to behold.

"Don't let anyone escape the building!" M21 shouted, causing Raizel to glance in his direction and see the many customers huddled in several corners, terrified.

Black electric whips wrapped around Raizel before he could even answer Frankenstein's call. He blinked in mild surprise as he was pulled back, dropping the packets of ramen in the process.

"I've got him Boss!" Tao shouted as he pulled Raizel to his side, using his electric whips. "Package is secure!"

"Excellent," Frankenstein announced. "Now, DESTROY THIS BUILDING!"

"Wait," Raizel said, causing everyone to freeze. Takeo came to a screeching halt, nearly shooting at the poor manager. M21 was in the process of tearing through the shelves while Seira and Regis were back to back, their soul weapons activated.

"This is the only store that sells the ramen," Raizel stated simply. "You cannot destroy it."

"B-but Master!" Frankenstein protested, leaping down to rush towards Raizel's side. "You were in danger! We have to find whoever threatened you-!"

"I was not in any danger," Raizel said. "Why would you think that?"

"The text message!" Tao exclaimed by his side, confused. "You sent me the letter 'H' which means 'Help'!"

Raizel frowned. "Is that what that means?" Well, that was good to know. "I meant to send 'K' but my thumb slipped."

Frankenstein blinked owlishly. "You're thumb...slipped?" he repeated.

Raizel nodded in the direction of the huddled customers. He signaled out the big burly, grouchy man who was not so grouchy anymore. "He bumped into me."

Frankenstein turned his dark glare onto the now terrified man. "Oh he did, didn't he?" Frankenstein growled, advancing forward with Dark Spear raised. However, he paused at the simple glance his Master gave him.

"So," Takeo spoke up, shouldering his guns. "We didn't need to come rushing in, guns blazing after all?" He actually sounded disappointed.

"We don't get to fight anyone?" Seira asked. She too sounded disappointed.

"Bummer," Regis muttered. He definitely sounded disappointed.

Silence stretched on, and it was only broken by Frankenstein's sudden laughter. Shoulders shaking, he released Dark Spear, running his hands through his hair as he laughed. He was soon joined by Tao's chuckling and Takeo's hesitant laughter. Even Seira seemed to be smiling.

"Alright," Frankenstein said, his laughter abruptly cutting off. "You," he pointed at Tao. "Release my Master at once." This time, there was no mirth in the glare he gave the young human.

Tao released Raizel immediately, his electric whips slipping off. "Eh, heh heh. Sorry about that," he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"You two," Frankenstein said, pointing at Seira and Regis who stood at attention. "Erase every single human's memory of this event. I know it will be a hassle, but we can't let anyone find out about this...incident." He turned and pointed at M21 and Takeo. "And as for you two, clean up this mess and fix the building."

Both men blinked, startled. "Right now?" M21 demanded, aghast.

Frankenstein nodded. "Yes, right now. What? Did you think I was going to leave Master's favorite store in shambles?"

"It'll take all night!" M21 protested.

"Tao will help you," Frankenstein said simply.

"What?" Tao demanded, staring at the blonde human in horror. But one look from Frankenstein had him slouching his shoulders in defeat. "Fine," he grumbled.

"It is partially your fault," Regis stated as he strode towards the whimpering humans. "You read the text message wrong." He smirked. "Aren't you supposed to posses the uncanny ability to understand this simple yet complex code of text messages anyway?"

"He couldn't send another one with the letter 'K'?" Tao grumbled as he trudged after his companions.

Raizel observed everything with a simple gaze before turning to look at the human by his side. "Frankenstein," he started.

Frankenstein snapped to attention. "Yes Master?"

Raizel pointed in the direction where his cart full of ramen had been crushed. "The ramen," he said simply.

Frankenstein blinked. "Oh. Don't worry Master! I shall conjure up ramen worthy enough for you! Tao can assist me with the experiments!"

Tao's bemoaning could be heard as that sudden declaration was made. All Raizel could do was raise an eyebrow, the promise of ramen embedded in his mind.


End file.
